Welcome to The Bookery

January 1, 2018

If you’ve frequented this little space for a while, it’ll come as no surprise to learn that 2017 was a rough year for me. But, with the start of a new year, comes fresh perspective. There are weeks, even months, in the last year, where I haven’t written any posts. Not because I haven’t wanted to but because I was reading book after book and I thought you would get bored of that. So I simply didn’t write and I thought about closing this blog entirely. But instead, I’ve decided to change what I write about.

So why The Bookery? Well, that’s a long story. One that starts with me as a teenager, and has yet to reach its conclusion but in short, I dream, one day, of opening my own little piece of paradise. A bookshop and café/bakery combined. Somewhere people can find new books, read old favourites, curl up in a comfy armchair with a mug of tea and a slice of cake. Because honestly – that’s what I love doing but as I’m not yet there with being able to open such a place, this will become the virtual version of it. Somewhere I share my book reviews; books for different seasons and occasions (I know I can’t be the only one who devours book lists whenever they’re published!); my favourite bookstores and bakeries; recipes – both sweet and savoury – and somewhere I hope you’ll curl up in an armchair with a mug of tea and pick out a new favourite or decide to try a new recipe.

For those of you who enjoy a wrap-up of my life here, I’ll now be doing monthly edits which you’ll be able to find, along with any other thoughts, in theJournal. Here’s what else you can expect:

Book Reviews: I get asked regularly about books I’ve read, if I liked it and whether or not I’d recommend them, so this will be a space for all of those thoughts. You can expect at least one of these a week as I regularly have at least 2-3 books on the go at any one time. (I’ll also write a post on that soon as I get asked lots about how I can have more than one book on the go at any one time)

Recipes: I love cooking and baking. I’ve mentioned a couple of times that my Grampa was a Master Baker and I’m pretty darn certain that my love of food comes from him. Actually, I just love being in the kitchen full-stop, so this will be my little corner to share old favourites and new friends with you.

Book Lists: yes, I am one of those people that reads certain books at certain times of the year. For instance, I always read Harry Potter at the start of Autumn, I read Little Women during Winter and I can, inevitably, be found reading Danielle Steel when the sun’s out. So here I’ll be sharing with you lists of everything from the best books to read whilst laid on the beach, to books set in Oxford and, of course, a few of the classics! Because I know I can’t be the only one that pins all those “20 Books If You Loved Downton Abbey” posts on Pinterest!!!

BBC Big Read: Considering I’ve been a bookworm for longer than I can remember, it is somewhat ridiculous that I have never done the BBC Big Read. For those of you not familiar with it, way back in 2003, the BBC created a survey to find the nation’s best-loved book of all-time. It turns out that I have already read approximately half the books in the Top 100, but that still leaves 50 odd books that I haven’t read! So follow my journey as I aim to complete the list and share my thoughts on each as I finish them.

Bookshops: it’s a running joke amongst my family and friends that if they ever lose me, I can usually be found either in the nearest bookshop or staring through the window of a bakery. I have been lucky enough to visit a fair few bookshops and bakeries in my time – plus there’s a whole heap more on my bucket list. Hopefully, these will inspire you to search out your local bookshop and bakery, or go out of your way to find one from here on your next trip.

I am, of course, still on social media – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest – plus I’ll be restarting my old monthly newsletter (complete with new look!) soon. If you want to subscribe to that, you can do that here.

Lastly, a big thank you to you, reader – regardless of whether you’ve been around a while or today is your first time. I am beyond thankful for the love and comments you leave. If there’s anything you’d like to see on The Bookery, or you just want to drop me a note, you can email me here.

So get comfy in that armchair, make sure you’ve got a mug of hot tea (or gin – no judgement here!) and let’s begin…